Nonfoods

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- There's new life for an old airport runway and vegetable oil used to fry chicken, at Wal-Mart's new experimental store in Aurora, Colo., the second of the retailer's test concept.

JANESVILLE, Wis. -- Woodman's Food Markets Inc., an operator of giant supermarkets throughout that state of Wisconsin, is debuting in the Milwaukee area with a 237,000-square-foot, $15 million development in Oak Creek, according to published reports. An unused part of Delphi Corp.'s automotive parts manufacturing complex, which was sold this summer to developers, is being razed to make way for the store.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Spartan Stores, the nation's tenth-largest grocer here, has gone live on One Network's appointment scheduling solution, joining such other retailers as Kroger, Safeway, Food Lion, and Hannaford Bros.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- A study released on Friday by Global Insight, an economic analysis firm based here, suggests that some claims from Wal-Mart's growing number of critics may be unfounded. The study, which analyzes the national and regional impact of the nation's largest retailer on the U.S. economy, was presented at a Wal-Mart-sponsored conference in Washington, D.C., along with papers written on this same topic from other sources.

NEW YORK -- Online grocer FreshDirect said Friday it had removed all hydrogenated oils from items made in its central bakery and kitchen, in accordance with a recent request by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The cyber-retailer said the elimination of trans fats from its recipes and formulas began on Nov.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The California grocery industry has joined forces with the city government to reduce, reuse, and recycle grocery store checkout bags.

CHICAGO --It looks like consumers are demanding even more robust convenience-based products than ever, with attributes such as better nutritional benefits, according to a study released yesterday by Information Resources, Inc. (IRI).

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate yesterday sent a $100 billion food and farm spending bill to President Bush that includes a two-year delay on mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for meat, produce and peanuts.